Oh, but she wanted him to. She wanted him to in a bad way.
She drove for a good hour before she spotted something on the side of the road. As she drew closer, she could make out the long floppy ears and pointed nose of a hound dog. She slowed even more so as not to scare the dog and pulled over a few yards away. She got out and crouched down, using the same voice she used with Queenie when she wanted the cat to come to her. It worked about as well.
“Hey, Boomer. How are you, cute boy?”
The dog stopped chewing on the bone he had in his mouth and stared at her.
“What do you have there? It looks like a pretty big soup bone. I’m not going to take it. I just want to get you home to your mama.” She rose and opened the back door of the SUV. “Come on, Boomer! Come on, boy!”
The dog hesitated for a second before he rose to his gangly legs and took off across a meadow of bluebonnets toward a copse of trees. Dixie jumped back in her SUV and went after him. Fortunately, there was a small road that led to the trees. She parked, grabbed the cat treats she kept in the console for Queenie—something she should’ve thought of sooner—and got out.
Not wanting to spook the dog again, she moved slowly and quietly through the thick mesquite and oak, glancing in both directions for any sign of the dog. When she reached a clearing, she was surprised to find a beautiful spring glittering in the late afternoon sun. A huge oak stood next to the spring with a rope dangling off one of its limbs. It was a hot day for early March and the thought of a dip in the cool water was tempting.
But first, she had a dog to find. She pulled out the bag of treats and was about to call Boomer’s name when a splash had her glancing at the spring. A dark-haired head popped above the water, followed quickly by tanned muscular shoulders that had her breath hitching and her heart quickening. She knew who it was immediately. No man in Simple had shoulders that broad.
She stepped back into the shadow of a mesquite tree and watched as Lincoln ducked under again. A few seconds later, he popped back up and started swimming, his powerful arms propelling him through the glistening water. She didn’t count how many times he swam from one end to the other, but it was a lot. When he was finished, he did a breaststroke to the shore. She held her breath as his feet hit the bottom and he started to walk out, revealing inch after inch of hard pecs and defined abs and dark pubic hair and . . .
Before she could see the best part, Lincoln hesitated.
“Who’s there?” His dark gaze scanned the area and finally zeroed in right where she was standing. For a second, she thought about making a run for it. But her mama had taught her that running from a man was like running from a dog. They could easily chase you down and catch you. It was better to face them head on and bring them to heel.
She stepped out from the shadows. “How’s the water?”
His face looked like he’d just taken a big bite of a sour lemon. She wished she felt the same. But all she wanted to do at the moment was strip off all her clothes and join him in that cool water, and then lick off every one of those glistening droplets that trickled down his hard body to where the water lapped against his sculpted hipbones.
He must’ve read her thoughts because he took a few steps back until he was covered to the waist. And he was still a sight for sore eyes. Or maybe horny eyes. Because she was sure feeling horny.
“What are you doing here, Deputy Meriwether?” he asked.
She moved closer and tried to see what lay just beneath the surface of the water. “I’m lookin’ for a dog.”
“A dog?”
“Yep.” She lifted her gaze. “Boomer Lancaster to be exact. The hound dog ran off during a party at Devlin’s house. I found him walking on the road about a half-mile away. When I tried to get him in my squad car, he ran toward these trees.”
Lincoln studied her as if trying to figure out if she’d made the entire story up. Which was annoying, but not as annoying as his next words. “Fine. I’ll find the dog. You can go back to the office and do your nails.”
She gritted her teeth and forced a smile. It was getting harder and harder to smile around the man. “That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to take you away from your important ranger business.” She opened her hand with the cat treats and started searching for the dog. “Boomer! Here, Boomer! I have treats for you.” A rustling sound came from her left and she turned in that direction and moved through the underbrush.
“Stop, Deputy Meriwether,” Lincoln ordered.
But she’d had about enough of his orders, so she ignored him. She pushed back some mesquite branches and moved closer to the sound. But it wasn’t Boomer. It was a cute little gopher frozen in place and staring at something. The same something that was making the rustling sound.
Or not rustling as much as rattling.
Dixie froze and slowly turned to see a coiled rattlesnake not more than a few feet away. Before she could remember how far a rattlesnake could strike, it struck. Not at the gopher, but at her. Its
